Should you Give Your Baby Junk Food?

If you had told me six months ago I would have never believed that by age 10 months Hailey would have already tried pizza, chips, ice cream, cake, muffins, chocolate, popcorn, and cookies. These foods are a far cry from my plans to feed her only organic, natural, recognizable foods.

My husband and I generally favour healthy, organic foods. We buy the bulk of our food at the market, organic food co-ops, and from a local butcher. We had almost no packaged food in our house until I was pregnant.

A recipe recently forced me to search the frozen vegetable section at the grocery store. I’ve never felt so out of place. I haven’t bought frozen vegetables in years.

Last week I wandered through the frozen food section again but this time in search of mini pizzas for that inevitable lazy night. I had no idea there were so many options. I stood in a confused stupor for what seemed like forever. Hailey started to fuss. I was taking too long. I had no idea what I was doing.

I had thought I would have been fairly strict when it came to Hailey’s diet. I feel like I know enough about our food industry to be wary of packaged and processed foods. I envisioned myself making Hailey organic baby food and never taking her to McDonald’s. But sometimes life doesn’t go according to plan.

Since Hailey insists on feeding herself she eats whatever we’re eating. Or store bought baby food in a pouch. Spoon feeding Hailey is next to impossible. When she sees us eating she assumes she can eat it too.

And how can I say no? Even when I know it’s crap food that she shouldn’t be eating I feel like a hypocrite. If it’s good enough for me why isn’t it good enough for her? The truth is I know it’s not good for me but I eat it anyways on occasion.

I figure, Hailey will eventually eat junk food so why not now? We don’t make a big deal when we give it to her and we don’t make it seem like a special treat. We also don’t want to tell her no because making it forbidden just makes it more enticing. Trust me…I see the way she looks at electrical cords.

Today I watched Hailey devour cake and ice cream, a treat we all shared for my husband’s birthday. Am I worried that she’s going to develop a taste for sugary treats? Not really. She’s shows the same enthusiasm for blueberries and toast.

I’m actually hoping she’ll start to notice the correlation between how she feels after eating junk food versus nutritious food. She might get sugar highs but I know I get tired and sometimes feel sick. Maybe she’ll feel the same. And I’m sure her dad and I will help her draw those connections a bit later on.

The majority of her food is nutritious and natural so I’m not going to beat myself up when I share the occasional chip or chocolate with her.